“With resources already stretched, there is a real risk of waiting times increasing and patient experience deteriorating"
Responding to the 2018/19 sexual and reproductive health statistics for England, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“People are taking their sexual health seriously which is encouraging to see, including an increasing uptake of long acting reversible contraceptives.
“Despite the slight fall in overall contacts with sexual health services when it comes to contraception, rising demand is continuing to push some councils’ sexual health services to capacity which is not sustainable in the long-term.
“With resources already stretched, there is a real risk of waiting times increasing and patient experience deteriorating.
“If we are to achieve the stated aims and ambitions in the Government’s green paper on prevention, to make sure people are able to live for longer in good health, councils need adequate and sustainable long-term funding for their public health budgets.”
NOTES
Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (Contraception), England, 2018/19